The sizzle’s still there…..

This time last week the sisterhood of sweat and scones and associated supporters were celebrating our triumph in the Cycletta. Today a ride to has been cancelled due to lashing rain and high winds, and maybe a touch of wimpishness coupled with the feeling that we can relax our efforts as the task was complete. But it’s not, the cycling was the means to an end, to help raise funds for our local charity to help young people in Blackburn with Darwen and the demands on our limited funds will not diminish, if anything we anticipate an increase as austerity bites.

All charities are searching for new and innovative ways to raise funds and the trustees of The John Bury Trust are no exception, and one of our more eagle-eyed members spotted a local competition to come up with a new recipe for a sausage which would be sold for a month with a proportion of the cost per kilo going to the winning charity. Now as you will have guessed food is never far from our thoughts and this was a challenge not to be missed. My own contribution was strangely overlooked and failed to be submitted. In my defence I received notification of the competition whilst perusing the stalls of the Sunday market in Isle sur Sorges in Provence and just happened to be standing by a sausage stall. Fortunately the donkeys of Lancashire have remained safe and our submission was the daring Beef and Marmite variety. Unsurprisingly we received swift notification that this tantalising combination which will engender both love and hate in equal measures was not only the winner for the month but was in production and out on the wonderful Dales Butchers stall in Blackburn Market.

Our joy was unbounded and trustees are already filling fridges, freezers and frying pans with the beautiful bangers safe in the knowledge that with every sizzle heard across Lancashire more funds are being raised to provide much needed assistance to some who need it most. We are determined that these limited edition delicacies will grace as many tables as possible whilst they are on sale and so trustees have submitted to a variety of photo opportunities involving sausages, forks and poses which may not be suitable for family publications. There may be a caption competition when the official photograph appears in the Lancashire Telegraph though entries may have to be censored if initial comments are anything to go by.

So our cycling fundraising may have ended for now – though the pedalling will continue and new sponsorship opportunities will I am sure present themselves, a humble sausage has presented us with the perfect opportunity to maintain fundraising momentum. We are aware as trustees that there are constant calls on people from all corners and causes these days and that disposable income is limited for everyone. We also know that we could become dispirited and take our foot off the pedals physically and metaphorically. The Dales Butchers Beef and Marmite sausages sizzling in pans of supporters and those who may never have heard of the John Bury Trust are not only providing bodily nourishment but nurturing our commitment to the cause and keeping us on track to ensure our future efforts have more than a touch of sizzle about them to entice our supporters to great events which leave them fully satisfied.

Please visit Dales stall on Blackburn Market this month 50p for every Kilo of Beef and Marmite Sausages sold will go to The John Bury Trust. We are still recieivng Cycletta sponsorship at http://www.justgiving.com/cycletta